Venator Class Star Destroyer
BACKGROUND (wookieepedia) The Venator-class Star Destroyer, also known as the Venator-class Destroyer, Republic attack cruiser, and later Imperial attack cruiser, was one of the capital ships used extensively by the Galactic Republic during the later parts of the Clone Wars, as well as by the Galactic Empire. It was designed and constructed by Kuat Drive Yards and Allanteen Six shipyards. A stock ship was 1,137 meters long, making it one of the largest capital ships capable of atmospheric operations, landing on planets to load and unload troops and vehicles. The Venator-class was born from the success of the Acclamator-class assault ship and was designed by Lira Blissex for the purpose of serving as a medium-sized, versatile multi-role warship. While designed primarily for ship-to-ship combat, the Venator had secondary roles ranging from starfighter carrier, to military transport and battleship escort. The expanded carrier role made the Venator-class popular amongst Jedi starfighter aces. As a popular multi-role warship of the Republic Navy, the Venator was considered heavily armed and armored enough to lead assaults on Rim worlds like Utapau as well as fast enough to chase down blockade runners. Due to being relatively less self-sufficient than other ships in the fleet, the Venator-class often relied upon supply lines to aid long-range campaigns. These vessels also sported the red color of diplomatic immunity all Republic ships sported; by the beginning of the Galactic Empire, the hulls were deprived of this symbol of the Republic, giving them a dull Imperial-gray appearance. The Venator-class shared some design-characteristics with a warship class that served in the Mandalorian Neo-Crusader fleet thousands of years before the Clone Wars. Venator-class Star Destroyers were deployed in many battles during the Clone Wars, most notably during the Battle of Coruscant when upwards of a thousand such ships helped protect the capital, and played pivotal roles in the repulsion of the CIS forces and the rescue of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Separatist forces categorized this kind of vessel as Cruiser-class, to contrast the Escort-class designation for smaller vessels, like the Arquitens-class and Consular-class. These warships were fast enough to pursue blockade runners, while also being large enough to lead independent operations, such as the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, Battle of Kashyyyk, and the Battle of Utapau. They could be used to land troops on planetary surfaces, and serve as escorts for the larger battleships, but their primary role was as mainline cruisers and starfighter carriers. As ships of the line, they were often grouped in lines of three to four ships. By the end of the Clone Wars, it had become the most popular capital ship of the Republic, although shortly after the formation of the New Order, it was eclipsed by designs inspired by the Victory-class. Despite this, Venators were used to great effect in the early years of the Empire. In the Empire, these ships were stripped of the colorful markings of the Republic models. At least two Venators were involved in pursuing the L-4000 smuggler ship Uhumele alongside a contingent of fighter squadrons. Imperial VenatorVenator-class Star Destroyers of the Galactic Empire. Eventually, more robust vessels such as the Imperator- and Tector-class became favored, and the Venator and its variants were phased out. This was partially due to its over-reliance on starfighters, as it went against the prevailing Tarkin Doctrine and due to its prominent position in the Republic Navy, which the Empire attempted to distance itself from. After the end of the Clone Wars, many Republic Venators were abandoned and left to drift in space. Several of these vessels fell into the hands of the Mandalorians, the Zann Consortium, and various pirate groups. By this time, the vessel was considered obsolete, but Venators were available for purchase from several merchants who gained the ships after the Empire sold many of them as scrap metal. This led to even more fringe groups obtaining Venators, as well as several Imperial Moffs, who used them in their private defense fleets, and for their various militias. The Imperial Navy used several Venators as flight schools for military pilots, alongside several Imperial-class Star Destroyers and captured Lucrehulk-class battleships. The Vensenor was a notable vessel that served in this role. Imperial Venators were also used as part of the security cordon for the Sanctuary Pipeline to the Endor system during the construction of the Death Star II. At least one Venator served in Admiral Daala's Maw Irregular Fleet in 40 ABY to 44 ABY. At least two were used in the Evacuation of Dac in 137 ABY. Affiliation: Galactic Republic, Galactic Empire, Corporate Sector Authority Ship Type: Star Destroyer Class: Venator Manufacturer: Kuat Drive Yards First Depolyed: 21 BBY Cost To Manufacture: 59 Million Republic/Imperial Credits Crew: 7 400 Gunners: 122 Pilots: 500 Troops: 2 000 MDC BY LOCATION: (1) Main Body 265,000 (1B) Command Towers (2) 50,000 ea (2) Sensor Array 4,000 ea (2) Communication Array 9,000 (3) Main Hanger 70,000 (3) Secondary Hanger 10,000 (4) Main engines (4) 30,000 ea (4) Secondary Engines (4) 9,000 ea Small Docking Thrusters(manY) 130 ea Small Airlocks/Access Hatches(many) 400 ea Large Airlocks (20) 1,200 ea Outer Hull (per 40 ft area) 220 Interior walls (per 20 ft area) 120 Dual Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (2) 300 ea Dual Light Turbolaser Artillery Turrets (8) 2,500 ea (5)Shields 50,000 per side (300,000 total) Armour - Stops everything up to and including 75mm or the equivalent thereof. NOTES: 1 - Depleting the MDC of the main body will put the Carrier out of commission. All internal systems will shut down, including life support and internal gravity. The ship itself will be an unsalvageable floating wreck. 1B - Destroying the Command Tower will effectively render the ship inoperative and set the ships effectively adrift in space though the main hull will still have auxiliary power, life support and minimal maneuvering on docking thrusters. 2 - Destroying the sensor will deprive the ship of all forms of long range communications, radar and targeting. The range and targeting capabilities of the secondary systems are equal to that of a starfighter at best. The ship can still operate, but is at -3 on initiative, -3 to strike, and number of attacks per melee of the weapon systems are reduced by half. 3 - Destroying the hangers will greatly impair the carrier's ability to deploy and recover aircraft. Under normal operations the carrier can launch or recover up to 60 starfighters or shuttles per turn. If the main hanger is destroyed this number drops to 12. If all hangers are destroyed the carrier cannot deploy any craft until at least one hanger is repaired. 4 - Depleting the MDC of the main engines will force the ship to rely on its secondary engines. Depleting the MDC of the main engines AND secondary engines will leave the ship adrift in space. If in an atmosphere, the ship will crash. 5 - Shields regenerate at 75 mdc per melee. Only if a generator is damaged will the ability for shields to regenerate be hampered in any way. SPEEDS: Speed - Realspace: mach 14 Speed - Atmosphere: 975 kph Speed - Hyperspace: Class 1 Hyperdrive (400 ly per hour), Class 8 Backup Hyperdrive (50 ly per hour) Maximum Range: 2 years without replenishment STATISTICAL DATA: Length: 1137m Height: 268m Width: 548m Weight: Millions of tons Hyperdrive: Class 2.0 Sublight Drive: KDY Ion engine Auxiliary Engine: Ion engine Power System: Hypermatter Reactor with many smaller Backup fusion reactors Sensor Systems: Targeting Computers, Cargo: 20 000 tons WEAPON SYSTEMS: WEAPON: Tractor Beams (6, 4 forward, 1 left, 1 right) PRIMARY PURPOSE: Ship Capture SECONDARY PURPOSE: Towing RANGE - SPACE: 120,000km RANGE - ATMOSPHERE: 600km DAMAGE: Target is held in place once hit and can be pulled towards the destroyer unless lock is broken. RATE OF FIRE: 3 per melee PAYLOAD: Unlimited BONUSES: +3 Strike WEAPON: Dual Light Turbolaser Artillery Turret (8, 1 dorsal left/forward, 1 dorsal right/forward, 2 dorsal left, 2 dorsal right, 1 dorsal left/rear, 1 dorsal right/rear) PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Ship SECONDARY PURPOSE: Bombardment RANGE - SPACE: 400,000km maximum RANGE - ATMOSPHERE: 2000km DAMAGE: 2d4x1000 RATE OF FIRE: 2 per melee PAYLOAD: Unlimited BONUSES: +2 Strike WEAPON: Dual Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (2, 1 left, 1 right) PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Ship SECONDARY PURPOSE: Bombardment RANGE - SPACE: 300,000km maximum RANGE - ATMOSPHERE: 1500km DAMAGE: 1d6x1000 RATE OF FIRE: 3 per melee PAYLOAD: Unlimited BONUSES: +2 Strike WEAPON: Laser Cannons (52, 6 forward, 20 Left, 20 Right, 6 Rear) PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Starfighter SECONDARY PURPOSE: Anti-Ship RANGE - SPACE: 5km RANGE - ATMOSPHERE: 2.5km DAMAGE: 3d6x10 RATE OF FIRE: Equalt to gunners attack per melee PAYLOAD: Unlimited BONUSES: +3 strike WEAPON: Proton Torpedo Launchers (4 Forward) PRIMARY PURPOSE: Anti-Ship SECONDARY PURPOSE: Bombardment RANGE - SPACE: 70,000km RANGE - ATMOSPHERE: 350km DAMAGE: 9d6x100 RATE OF FIRE: 3 per melee PAYLOAD: 16 each BONUSES: +2 strike SYSTEMS OF NOTE: COMMUNICATIONS: Holonet Transceiver with effectively unlimited range and a subspace transceiver with a range of 100 light years. LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS: Can support full complement for an effectively unlmited amount of time however consumables will run out after 2 years if not replenished PASSIVE SENSOR SYSTEMS: Have a radius of 40,000,000km. System includes Dedicated Energy Receptors, Mass Detectors, Electro-photo Receptors, Aural Sensors. Gives a +0% to sensor skill rolls. SCANNING SENSOR SYSTEMS: Have a radius of approximately 75 light years. System includes Dedicated Energy Receptors, Mass Detectors, Full Spectrum Transceivers, Life Form Indicators. Gives a +10% bonus to sensor skill rolls. SEARCH SENSOR SYSTEMS: Have a range of 120,000,000km and can be directed to any of the 6 arcs around the ship. System includes Dedicated Energy Receptors, Electro-Photo Receptors, Mass Detectors, Life Form Indicators, Long Range Phased Tachyon Detection Arrays, Full Spectrum Transceivers. Gives a +15% bonus to sensor skill rolls. FOCUSING SENSOR SYSTEMS: Have a radius of 400,000km and can be directed anywhere within the search range of the sensor systems. System includes Dedicated Energy Receptors, Electro-Photo Receptors, Mass Detectors, Life Form Indicators, Full Spectrum Transceivers, Aural Sensors, Short range Primary Threat Analysis Grids. Gives a +20% bonus to sensor skill rolls. NAV COMPUTER: Complete navigational data for the entire known galaxy are stored and updated regularly. OTHER COMBAT BONUSES: +1 to dodge vs other capital ships Cannot dodge attacks from starfighters etc FIGHTER COMPLEMENT (Galactic Republic): Fighters - 420, 192 V-wing Fighters, 192 Eta-2 Actis Interceptors, 36 ARC-170 Assault Fighters Transports - 40 LAAT/i Walkers - 24 AT-TE REFERENCES USED IN THIS DESIGN Wookiepedia Star Wars Roleplaying Game - The Imperial Sourcebook (West End Games) The Star Wars Sourcebook (West End Games) Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook Special Edition (West End Games) Star Wars Complete Crossections Star Wars Technical Journal of the Imperial Forces